That the woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved. Adam lost a rib, and without any diminution to his strength or comeliness (for, doubtless, the flesh was closed without a scar); but in lieu thereof he had a help meet for him, which abundantly made up his loss: what God takes away from his people he will, one way or other, restore with advantage.

In the beginning

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.

I love that God captures our hearts the same way He created the world. Before there was Hope in my life, I was like the earth, both formless and empty, with darkness over me. Faithfully, God hovered over my life and declared LIGHT to dwell in my soul. He separated the light from the darkness in my life. Today, I am declaring that the "light is good".

As I get deeper into the Word I see how beautifully it is crafted and weaved together.

9 Days LEFT!!

I am leaving for my internship in South Los Angeles in 9 days. For those of you who do not know. I am interning with the Los Angeles Urban Project. I will spend 6 weeks with a team of CSUF students at a church is South L.A working at a summer camp for kids. I will be learning about social justice issues around the world. This internship is different than most because I will be learning about Jesus and how He views social justice. I know I will be challenged and stretched this summer.

God has been preparing me these past few weeks since summer break began. I have learned so much about God's numerous characteristics. He has shown me how much He cares about the "forgotten" people in this world and how much He wants me to care as well. I know it is only through the eyes of Jesus will I be able to love. If you don't know Jesus, read the Gospel of John. It is a biography of Jesus when we walked the earth in flesh. He is filled with compassion and He fights for social justice without swinging a fist. Get to know Him. He is intriguing to say the least!

In your pursuit of righteousness, have you left Jesus behind?

A Journey of Hope in the Midst of Poverty

I walked around L.A today with some sisters and I was on a mission to take pictures that displayed a journey of hope in the midst of poverty. All I saw were different people on different missions in life. Some were standing on the side waiting for a helping hand, other's were rushing to and fro to get to where ever they needed to be. Everyone seemed to be late for an important appointment. Too late to notice the poverty they pushed through to get to their beloved destination.

Where is the hope in poverty we wonder? We don't just wonder...we demand an answer.

The answer lies in prayer.

There is hope because of prayer.
Prayer changes our hearts, so we can change the world.

So I sat down at Union Station, took out my camera and focused on hands in the prayer position as the background of people rushing to and fro were blurry in the background. The people on the "sidelines" asking for help are not the only ones who need prayer. We all do. Our hearts have failed us. We need a God who is in the business of healing and redeeming. Let's partner in prayer for our hearts and the hearts of those around us.

Reflection of my favorite moment this weekend at Catalina babysitting

Tears were streaming down is innocent face. His skin so soft and pure just the way God intended. His screams for his daddy came in waves. I wanted to comfort him the way God comforts me when I am scared and lonely. I sat on a swing with him on my lap and swayed back in forth hoping to imitate a familiar feeling of security this beautiful baby boy may have stored up inside his memory.

I swung back and forth,

back and forth

holding him close to my heart so he could hear my steady heartbeat. I sang Amazing Grace to him in the softest voice I could muster.

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound...I was once lost but now am found."

As I sang these words to little Marcus and to God at the same time, I realized that I was living in a Holy moment. One that would forever shape my faith journey. Although I had a screaming baby in my arms, I felt so incredibly peaceful.

Every time I sang Jesus' name, his cries became softer. I put my mouth close to his ear so that he could hear the love of a daughter of God singing to her Father above who seemed far away at times.

This moment.

This beautiful, beautiful

Holy moment

that God gave to me as a gift and an offering of Grace.

This moment made me want to cry and laugh at the same time.

I prayed over this little boy as he was crying. I prayed that baby Marcus would know the God who loves him so much that he allowed his OWN son to suffer and even DIE for our small existence.

This moment of desperate need for comfort taught me something about my own crying episodes with God. I cry and I cry within myself, wanting someone to come find me and hold me and sing love songs to me. I cry and I cry within myself, longing for a savior to come sweep me off my feet. But I realize that my Savior already came for me. He already comforts me with love songs. He already holds me near. My Jesus IS my comforter. I am no stronger than baby Marcus who cries for daddy because he thinks he has been abandoned.

I am held. I pray that you are too.

I'm sorry I forgot your name

Yesterday I met a man who was different. I met him at the heart of L.A. He told me about his great love for poetry. He said it was such passion and honesty. His words about loving poetry sounded like poetry. The words rolled off his tongue as he repeated french words to set the tone.

He told me a secret,

"Sometimes, I love poetry more than I love myself."

"Does poetry love you back?"

"I hope so" he said with a sigh like a boy sighing over his lost love.

Hearing that sigh made me want to share with him about my love for Jesus. So I asked him if he wanted to know what I loved more than myself. He asked me if it was photography as he pointed at the camera hanging around my neck. I said no. I told him with excitement trying not to sound like a little girl at Sunday school..."JESUS"!

He nodded and said "I am scared of that Jesus...He seems so mean sometimes." Then he said a poem about how he wants to know Jesus but is scared because Jesus might be angry at him.

I told him about Jesus' righteous anger and about his mercy and grace. Our conversation ended as we both stood there nodding at the beautiful conversation we had right there in the middle of the night. Two strangers who suddenly felt so familiar. He shook my hand and told me his name, then walked away as if the conversation was already forgotten.

As I rest in my bed after Sunday service I try to remember his name...but I can't. I feel guilty but my forgetfulness shows me how much I need Jesus to help me remember to love people. My humanity is my greatest downfall and also my greatest reason for needing something bigger than myself.

So there it is...I love Jesus more than I love myself. Now I need Him to help me love others more than myself.